Page 27 of Royal Alien Mate

“We had to leave our planet because our sun was dying. Once the Xieandans realized we were about to attack them, they did something to our sun, which even our most brilliant scientists couldn’t reverse. After we finished slaughtering the Xieandans, we searched the galaxy far and wide for a new planet. When we happened upon a group of humans at an outpost in the Fallushan Sector, we tested them and learned they were compatible with us, so we sent the first wave of our people to your solar system. It was around this time that we developed terraforming technology, and rather than settle our entire population on your planet, we opted to transform Mars into a planet more to our liking.”

“Why isn’t all of this common knowledge on Earth?” Esmay’s mother asked. “There’s a lot of mystery surrounding your people’s appearance in our solar system.”

“We attacked the Martians first,” Esmay said, feeling it important. She didn’t want her parents thinking the Martians were nothing but conquerors. They had tried for peace with the humans first, only to be attacked without warning.

“Is that true?” her father asked, his eyes growing wide.

Vaath nodded and explained more about the human attack on the first Marttiaxoxalian settlement on Mars. “It is supposed to be common knowledge on Earth, however, it seems many human teachers are rebelling by not teaching their pupils the correct version of events that occurred, which has led to many untruths and rumors being spread about my people on your planet.”

“Ah, but I suppose the bad rumors about the Martians work in your favor at times,” her father said. “The more that humans fear your people, the more likely humans will be to remain complacent as you rule over our planet.”

“I don’t want us to get into a debate about Martian-human politics right now,” Esmay said before Vaath could reply. “Let’s not argue. Let’s just agree that mistakes have been made on both sides. Vaath said something very wise to me recently. He said ‘war is never fair,’ and I think he’s right. The war wasn’t fair to Earth, nor was it fair to the Martians. We lost people on both sides.”

“We lost millions of humans,” her father said. “How many Martians died, did you say? Only five thousand?”

“We fought your people only until Earth surrendered,” Vaath replied. To Esmay’s utter relief, his tone was patient, rather than strained.

Voices sounded in the background and Esmay peered behind her parents. Carmen and Lilly were awake. God bless them for interrupting at the perfect time. She grinned and waved as they approached the screen.

“Hey, girls!” she said in Galactic Common, knowing they would speak it back to her since they loved practicing the language. “How are my favorite sisters?”

Both girls stared at Vaath, their eyes wide and their mouths hanging open. She couldn’t help but chuckle at their comical expressions.

“Is that the savage Martian you married?” Carmen asked.

“Carmen,” her mother said in a chiding tone. “Don’t call him a savage, it’s not polite.”

“But that’s what we heard Daddy call him yesterday,” Lilly said. “Except he actually put a very naughty word in front of savage.”

A quick glance at Vaath showed he wasn’t offended. Instead, his lips were twitching, as if he were holding back a smile.

“Carmen and Lilly,” she said, placing her hand upon Vaath’s arm, “I would like you to meet my husband, Prince Vaath of Mars.”

“Mom, how come she gets to marry a prince?” Carmen asked. “She’s not a princess.”

“Well, she’s a princess now,” Lilly said in her trademark bossy tone. Born a full minute before her sister, she always took her position as the older twin very seriously. “She’s Princess Esmay of Mars, in fact.”

“I am pleased to meet you both,” Vaath said, peering at Esmay’s sisters.

The twins proceeded to interrogate Vaath, asking him question after question about Martian customs and life on Mars. They even asked about his family and friends. Embarrassingly, they also wished to know how many children he planned to have with Esmay.

“Five hundred and twenty-eight,” he replied, which caused them to erupt into a fit of giggles. The joke caused even her stone-faced father to crack a smile, and her mother gave a short chuckle as her eyes lit up.

As the conversation continued, Esmay felt a weight of worry lift from her shoulders. Her parents might not yet fully accept Vaath, but this was a wonderful start.

Chapter 20

The Martian funeral was as solemn as any funeral Esmay had attended on Earth. She stood next to Vaath as Wyvonus and several other holy men chanted a prayer. They stood outside a temple near the palace, and it was the first time Esmay had left the palace grounds since her arrival. Keeping her head bowed during the prayer, she peeked up on occasion, curious about the city, though she couldn’t see much, as it was close to midnight. Stars sparkled overhead, city lights stretched into the distance, and the two moons rested high in the sky.

Faith and her mate, whose name was Marxx, and a palace guard named Zimm, stood nearby, as well as several other Martian-human couples. Vaath had explained he wished for a strong human presence at the funeral, and he had also promised the event would be well-guarded. Thedrakkswould not succeed in harming anyone tonight.

Ten days had passed since the attack. According to Wyvonus, Martian funerals took place seven or more days after a death, long enough to allow for the deceased’s soul to come to terms with the death. “Spirits sometimes like to linger amongst their family and friends. They need time to accept what has happened to them, and also time enough to say goodbye to those they care about most, before ascending to the stars,” the Wise One had told her yesterday when she visited him.

She stared at the two urns that contained the remains of the poor souls who’d perished in the attack—a human woman named Quinn and her Martian mate called Akiddah. Esmay had briefly met Quinn while aboard the spacecraft as they traveled to Mars, and while she hadn’t known the woman, she grieved her loss as if she’d been a dear friend.

What sort of life would Quinn and Akiddah have shared, had they not been murdered?

It was beyond tragic and she prayed the anti-Earthers were soon rounded up.

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